Arch Deluxe
The Arch Deluxe was a hamburger created and marketed by McDonalds with the intent of capturing the adult fast food consumer market, presented as a more sophisticated burger for an adult palate. It failed to catch on and is seen as one of the most expensive flops of all time, on the scale of New Coke.
History
In response to the demographic trend of longer lifespans and an expanding older market, McDonalds made a conscious decision to attempt to market their food to a more adult audience. Rather than compromise their existing brand images, they decided to create a new line of burgers with more sophisticated ingredients. They commissioned Executive Chef Andrew Selvaggio to create the Deluxe line of burgers including the Fish Fillet Deluxe, Grilled Chicken Deluxe, Crispy Chicken Deluxe and the flagship Arch Deluxe. The Arch Deluxe was released in 1996 in one of the most expensive advertising campaigns to that date. However, customers were turned off by the high price and unconventional ads, and consumer groups were upset by the higher caloric content. The brand was gradually discontinued, and is no longer found at McDonalds stores today. Some sandwiches that were created as part of the Deluxe line were kept; for example, the Grilled Chicken Deluxe was rebranded as the Chicken McGrill. Ultimately, it is estimated that the research, production and marketing for the Arch Deluxe set McDonalds back over $300 million, and temporary losses due to the deprecation of their brand name. However, McDonalds has recently stated that some of their initial research into adult marketing was recycled in the recent development of their successful line of salad products.
Composition and nutrition information
The Arch Deluxe was a quarter pound of beef, on a toasted split-top bun topped with a circular piece of bacon, lettuce and tomato, and a "secret" mustard sauce. It was seen by some consumer groups as a huge step back after more nutritional offerings such as the McLean reduced-fat burger.
Nutrition without bacon 560 calories 32 grams of fat* 11 grams of saturated fat 960 milligrams of sodium.
Nutrition with bacon 610 calories 36 grams of fat*13 grams of saturated fat 1,190 milligrams of sodium
Marketing
McDonalds hired Fallon McElligott, an advertising agency known for unconventional work for their staggering $100 million ad campaign, which included spots in Super Bowl XXX. Arch Deluxe ads were notable in that, unlike other fast food ads, they did not really talk about the quality of the food. They primarily consisted of young children who would look at the seemingly complex burger and say "I don't get it", or "I don't understand what the big deal is." Some would even call the burger "yucky". This line of indirect rebel advertising was very similar to The Coca-Cola Company's marketing for OK Soda two years before, which was also a flop. When studies showed that their first set of advertising was unsuccessful, and was possibly even hurting their existing branding, they switched to a more conventional McDonalds style commercial, featuring Ronald McDonald doing adult-activities, such as playing golf.
Trivia Adam Archuleta, Safety for the St. Louis Rams was dubbed Arch Deluxe by his teammates. At the time (2001), Archuleta said that he did not even understand the anachronistic reference.
See alsoList of major flops
External links McDonald's original Arch Deluxe Website from the Internet Wayback Machine A nutritional analysis of the Arch Deluxe from the Center for Science in the Public Interest
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